Lord Sewel's London residence raided by police

John Sewel, the disgraced House of Lords Deputy Speaker, is resisting calls to
step down

Lord Sewel's London residence has been searched after Scotland Yard launched an investigation into alleged drug-taking, it emerged on Monday.

In a statement, the Met said no arrests have been made at this stage but confirmed a criminal investigation into allegations of drug-related offences involving a member of the House of Lords was under way.

The force said one complaint had been received but added the investigation had already begun when this was raised.

A policeman holding a battering ram at the entrance to the block in Dolphin Square, where Lord Sewel has a flat (Will Wintercross)

Lord Sewel announced that he will instead take a "leave of absence" while investigations are carried out and consider his position afterwards.

He made the decision to retain his peerage despite a suggestion by David Cameron that he should either resign or quit.

A policeman at the entrance to the block in Dolphin Square, where Lord Sewel has a flat (Will Wintercross)

Under the terms of his "leave of absence", Lord Sewel will not be able to claim any allowances and will have to give three months notice if he plans to return.

Should he decide to stay, however, he will be entitled to claim parliamentary allowances of £200 a day.

The Sun's frontpage on Lord Sewel alleged misconduct

Lord Sewel said: "I wish to take leave of absence from the House as soon as it can be arranged. I also wish to make clear that in doing so I have no intention of returning to the House in any way until the current investigations have been completed, when in the light of their outcome I will review my long term position. I believe this is compatible with due process."

It came as David Cameron said there are "questions" as to whether the Labour peer is fit to sit in the Upper House despite him still being allowed to claim up to £300 a day in parliamentary allowances while any investigation is carried out.

"These are very serious allegations," the Prime Minister said.

"I think it's right he has stood down from his committee posts and I'm sure further questions will be asked about whether it is appropriate to have someone legislating and acting in the House of Lords if they have genuinely behaved in this way

"It's still going to take some time I suspect to get to the full truth.‎"

The disgraced former Deputy Speaker of the Lords has indicated this morning that he would not quit his role as a peer despite fresh pictures emerging of him wearing a prostitute's orange bra at a sex party.

Lord Sewel, who has been suspended from the Labour party, will "tough it out" by not resigning as a peer, the BBC has reported.

But Baroness Boothroyd, pictured, has called for him to quit as a peer after bringing a "bad smell" to the House. She said: "I think the best thing that could happen now is that he should take a quit way out of the back door of the House of Lords. I feel sad for his family.

"He has been the bad apple in this barrel. We have been trying to uphold our standards. This doesn't leave us with a very good smell. He has brought the House into some disrepute."

The peer, who served as a minister under Tony Blair, will be able to continue to speak from the red benches and make full use of the House of Lords while his activities are probed.

The House of Lords authorities may face a delay of up to a year before they can use new powers to suspend or expel Lord Sewel.

The Labour MP John Mann, pictured, led calls for Lord Sewel to be thrown out of parliament after the Speaker of the Lords, Lady D’Souza, described the crossbench peer’s alleged behaviour as “shocking and unacceptable”.

But the code of conduct for the House of Lords makes clear that any investigation by the commissioner for standards in the upper house has to be suspended if a matter is being investigated by the police.

The married peer was forced to resign on Sunday after he was caught on video apparently snorting cocaine while cavorting with two prostitutes.

Lord Brabazon of Tara, the peer's predecessor as chairman of the Privileges and Conduct committee, said he was "pretty horrified" by the allegations and called for him to quit the Lords.

He told the BBC's World at One: "If I was in his shoes I would retire from the House of Lord as of now. I think he should do exactly the same straight away."

Conservative peer Lord Cormack said: "I know and like Lord Sewel and I was just amazed and very sad."

He added: "There's not a proper scheme for peers to take early retirement if they wish to do so and, if there is substance to these stories, then perhaps that would be the best and kindest way for all concerned."

The House of Lords has had "no correspondence or indication from Lord Sewel as to his intentions", The Telegraph has learnt.

New pictures show him reclining with a cigarette whilst dressed in a bra and woman's leather jacket have been published by The Sun newspaper.

Lord Sewel in his robes

Lord Sewel of Gilcomstoun, 69, is said to have been recorded branding David Cameron "the most facile, superficial prime minister there's ever been" during the session with two £200-a-night prostitutes at his Dolphin Square flat in Westminster.

He reportedly said: "He just shoots from the hip. He is false. He makes one-off commitments and cannot deliver."

He labelled Mayor of London Boris Johnson "a joke" and a "public school upper class twit", adding: "He plays well in London because they like a cheeky chappie.

"Can you present Boris Johnson in Preston, in Burnley, in Manchester? No, they just think he's an a---hole."

Lord Sewel, who was responsible for upholding standards in the Lords, also described Scottish MP Alex Salmond as a "silly, pompous prat", according tofootage obtained by The Sun.

Asked by one of the women, whose voice is disguised, about former Labour prime minister Tony Blair's decision to go to war in Iraq, Lord Sewel said the former party leader did so "because he fell in love with George Bush".

He claimed Blair's wife, Cherie, was "obsessed with money".

A bottle of what appears to be vodka sits on the table while Lord Sewel drinks from a glass at various points during his conversation with the women.

The Sun also reports that Lord Sewel said the Labour leadership race was "in a f---ing mess".

Lord Sewel at the House of Lords

He is said to have called Jeremy Corbyn "useless" and "a romantic idiot" and claimed Andy Burnham has been "terribly contradictory" and "goes whichever way the wind is blowing".

He said Yvette Cooper was "OK but not strong" and appeared to forget Liz Kendall's name, describing her as "a Blair supporter who is just too naive".

The one politician Lord Sewel did say something positive about was George Osborne, the Chancellor, who he described as a "very, very consummate politician" who would one day be prime minister.

The Lords authorities have said they will call in Scotland Yard over the footage, with sources suggesting that the peer will be asked to accept a caution.

He resigned as Deputy Speaker of the Lords on Sunday and also left his role as Chairman of Committees.

Lord Sewel was a Labour peer until resigning his party membership to take up the official role in the House of Lords and is formally known as a "non-affiliated member".

How Lord Sewel will be investigated

A referral is expected to be made that would trigger an initial assessment by Lords Commissioner for Standards Paul Kernaghan to decide if there is a case to pursue.

The former police chief constable would investigate whether there has been a breach of Lords rules, which maintain that members must "always act on their personal honour", and then send the case to the Lords sub-committee on conduct.

It would decide what punishment the peer should face and, under rules that came into force on July 16, could recommend Lord Sewel is expelled from the House of Lords.

The recommendation would then go before the Lords Privileges and Conduct Committee, which Lord Sewel chaired until the scandal broke, and it would consider any appeal made by the peer.

Such a decision would need to be rubber-stamped through a formal vote in the chamber and at that point the former Scottish minister could be kicked out of Parliament.

Anyone can make a formal complaint about a peer but investigations can take many months to complete.

Reforming the House of Lords

Allegations against Lord Sewel relating to drugs and prostitutes have thrown attention back on the House of Lords.

Fundamental reform of the unelected House has eluded a series of governments, meaning it faces regular criticism for its size and democratic legitimacy.

How many peers are there?

There are currently 783 active members of the House of Lords - the great majority of which, some 670, are so-called "life peers" who are members until they die, retire or are expelled.

Included among the ranks of peers are 87 hereditary peers and 26 bishops. Hereditary peers are a leftover from reforms made by Tony Blair's government. Titles and peerages can be inherited but the number of hereditary peers is capped, meaning bizarre elections take place to replace those who die.

The Church of England fills 26 seats in the House of Lords with senior bishops.

The 96-year-old Conservative Lord Carrington is the longest serving peer. He joined the House in April 1941. Among the newest peers are those made ministers after the general election - including former MP Francis Maude and pensions expert Ros Altmann.

How are those 783 seats made up?

The Conservatives are the largest party with 226 peers but they do not have a majority. Labour has 212 and the Liberal Democrats 101. There are 17 peers who sit for minor parties or as independents, while 22 are listed as "unaffiliated".

There are a further 179 "cross bench" peers who are in the House as experts from different fields and backgrounds.

There are 591 men and 192 women.

How much do they get paid?

Most peers do not receive a salary but do get given a flat rate allowance to assist with travel and accommodation.

The rate is £150 or £300 for each sitting day they attend the House, determined by attendance, not residence criteria.

They can claim additional money for travelling on parliamentary business and get free postage relating to their work.

Some peers are paid by the House of Lords for specific jobs - they are the Lord Speaker, the Chairman of Committees, and the Principal Deputy Chairman.

What about ministers?

Ministers are excluded from the daily allowances because they are paid a salary by their departments, depending on what rank they hold in government.

What reforms have been made in the House of Lords in recent years?

Two small pieces of backbench legislation have passed in the last two years, one allowing voluntary retirement and the other providing for expulsion.

Several dozen peers have taken the opportunity to retire permanently from the House of Lords since the House of Lords Reform Act 2014 was passed.

Nobody has yet been expelled from the Upper House.

In the last parliament, the coalition tabled legislation to bring elections to the Lords but it ran aground after the Tories and Liberal Democrats failed to agree a way forward. Labour achieved some reforms, removing most hereditary peers and separating the Supreme Court from Parliament.

What does this mean for discipline?

Under the new rules, peers can vote to expel or suspend a peer. The new power is tougher than previous rules which require peers to have been sentenced to more than a year in jail before they can be kicked out - and then only on a short-term suspension.

The new legislation was aimed at bringing sanctions in circumstances such as if it emerged they had fiddled their expenses or committed a crime punished with a sentence of less than a year.